Technician testifies he wasn’t trained to use grounding straps during hyperbaric hearing

By Julia Cardi, jcardi@detroitnews.com

A former operator of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber on the Oxford Middle, a sequence of medical services that supplied hyperbaric remedies for a spread of circumstances, testified Monday that his security coaching by no means included the usage of grounding straps to neutralize the buildup of static electrical energy throughout remedies.

Testifying as a part of an ongoing preliminary examination in Troy’s 52-4 District Courtroom, Andrew McMullen stated the corporate’s proprietor particularly instructed him they weren’t wanted.

McMullen is among the closing witnesses to take the stand at a listening to to find out whether or not there may be sufficient proof to place 4 individuals on trial in reference to the loss of life of a five-year-old boy in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber in January 2025. Thomas Cooper was being handled in a chamber when it exploded on the Oxford Middle website in Troy.

McMullen stated he labored on the South Lyon location of the Oxford Middle for about two years between 2017 and 2021 after which one other two years on the Brighton location. He stated he had acquired coaching on grounding on the whole, however not on grounding straps. A grounding strap worn on a affected person’s wrist connects them to the room to do away with any static electrical energy that will construct up.

McMullen stated when he discovered floor straps on the heart and requested what they had been, Tamela Peterson, CEO and proprietor of Oxford Middle, instructed him the middle was not utilizing them.

“I used to be simply instructed by Tammy that it wasn’t one thing we had been utilizing; it was an pointless step,” McMullen stated.

That did not change even after he observed a baby’s hair standing on finish throughout a therapy, most likely as a consequence of static electrical energy, he stated.

4 individuals are going through prison costs in Thomas’ loss of life. The Michigan legal professional basic’s workplace has charged Peterson, together with security director Jeffrey Mosteller and chief supervisor Gary Marken, with manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Aleta Moffitt, the operator of the hyperbaric chamber, faces costs of involuntary manslaughter and knowingly putting false information in a medical report.

A plaintiff’s professional testified in September that the usage of floor straps is an trade commonplace for hyperbaric chambers as a result of they stop static electrical energy from build up, which might trigger a fireplace.

However attorneys for the 4 defendants famous that McMullen by no means labored on the Troy location and couldn’t have recognized concerning the heart’s tradition after he stopped working there in 2021.

Todd Flood, who represents Marken, urged the Oxford Middle’s tradition emphasised affected person well-being and identified that McMullen generally underwent coaching on weekends to function the rooms safely.

‘They felt it was essential to assist youngsters and adults with issues, sure?’ Flood requested.

“Sure,” McMullen stated.

“And so they needed to ensure they had been taken care of, sure?”

“Sure,” McMullen replied.

Monday was the seventh day of the examination for the 4 suspects. The listening to began in September 2025.

The courtroom additionally heard from Troy police Det. Ryan Whiteside on Monday, who was reviewing movies of Thomas’ remedies on the Oxford Middle and taking notes on his observations of safety checks when the little boy entered the room. He famous that he noticed Thomas shifting frequently throughout every of the remedies.

Protection attorneys tried to query the thoroughness of the Troy Police Division’s investigation by asking Det. Brenna Yunkari and questioned her about her cellphone dialog with a person named Thomas Fox, who contacted the police unsolicited and known as himself an professional in hyperbaria. The legal professionals urged that Yunkari was leaping to a conclusion about Fox’s credibility.

Yunkari stated Fox, who claimed to be one of many first licensed hyperbaric technicians and skilled by the U.S. Air Drive, believed that tire grounding was a “secondary” and “precautionary measure.” She stated Fox known as the Oxford Middle “one of many good ones” amongst hyperbaric therapy facilities within the U.S., prompting Yunkari to think about attainable bias in his opinion.

Yunkari stated she had not verified Fox’s credentials past a Google search or his declare that the Worldwide Hyperbaric Affiliation flew him to Michigan to help within the investigation. Beneath stress from Alona Sharon, who represents Mosteller, Yunkari stated she additionally didn’t ask Fox how he had verified his declare that the Oxford Middle’s rooms had been properly maintained.

“Did you ask him how he knew that?” stated Sharon.

“No, I did not, and I want I had,” Yunkari replied.

She admitted that within the rush of researchers making an attempt to study extra about hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy — a distinct segment space of ​​the therapy — she was restricted within the hours after Thomas’ loss of life to query Fox about his data.

The preliminary listening to will proceed on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Protection attorneys have indicated they plan to name at the very least another witness.